Former Congressman Dick Zimmer seeks GOP nod for U.S. Senate

Millionaire businessman Andy Unanue officially dropped his bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate today and endorsed former Congressman Dick Zimmer, who agreed to take Unanue's place.

But first, Zimmer must defend a lawsuit filed this afternoon claiming Unanue was never a real candidate, so there is no vacancy to fill.

Zimmer, 63, said he was "honored" and is running "to ensure that New Jersey's future is one of opportunity, affordability and hope."

Although he works as a lawyer-lobbyist in Washington, D.C., where he has a condo, he stressed his roots in Hunterdon County. He and his wife of 43 years, Marfy Goodspeed, own a 25-acre farm in Delaware Township and are registered to vote there.

"I have lived in New Jersey all my life. I raised my family here,'' Zimmer said. "This is a critical time for the people of my home state and for all Americans. We need to strengthen our economy, keep our families safe and meet our challenges around the world."

The lawsuit, filed at 4:04 this afternoon in Chancery court in Morris County, claims Unanue's nominating petitions were "legally defective" because when he filed them Monday, he was neither a bona fide resident of New Jersey nor a serious candidate.

The lawsuit was filed by Dan Gallic, campaign manager for Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris), who also is seeking the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

"I'm just sick and tired of the nonsense and the games some people play,'' Gallic said. "We're the laughingstock of the United States in terms of how we run our elections."

Monday was the deadline for candidates for U.S. Senate to file the 1,000 signatures needed to place their names in nomination. If Unanue was never a valid candidate, then no one could replace him and the Republican primary would be a two-way race between Pennacchio, 52, and Ramapo College Prof. Murray Sabrin, 61.

Unanue, of the family that founded Goya Foods, was vacationing in Colorado when he announced he was running on Easter Sunday through a letter posted on the political web site politickernj.com. He dropped his candidacy without ever holding a public event to kick it off. To the extent he campaigned, it was by phone.

But that, and the promise that he would tap his considerable wealth for his race, won Unanue the coveted party endorsement in nine counties.

"To claim now he never intended to run is ludicrous,'' Bergen County Republican Chairman Rob Ortiz said.

Legal papers substituting Zimmer for Unanue were filed at 10:17 this morning with the state Division of Elections in Trenton. They included a letter from Unanue, dated Thursday, stating he was withdrawing his candidacy.

"I have determined that several business opportunities which have recently presented themselves cannot be missed,'' Unanue said in the letter addressed to the three-member committee he had empowered to pick his replacement. He recommended they pick Zimmer and they did.

Zimmer also filed a statement seeking to run and asking to use the nine county "lines" that had gone to Unanue.

Zimmer was elected to the Assembly in 1981 and was serving his third term when he was selected to fill a vacancy in the state Senate, where he served three years. He resigned after winning election to the House of Representatives in 1990. After three terms, he gave up that seat to run for Democrat Bill Bradley's open U.S. Senate seat.

Political observers called it the meanest, most negative campaign of 1996. Zimmer lost by 10 percentage points to Robert Torricelli, but did better than Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, who trailed President Clinton in New Jersey by 17 points. Some in the party credited Zimmer with preventing more Democrats from riding to Congress on Clinton's coattails.

In 2000 Zimmer attempted to win back his old House seat from Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist.). After a two-week recount that showed Zimmer behind by three-tenths of a percent, he conceded.

Born in Newark, Zimmer earned his undergraduate and law degrees at Yale. Prior to his election to Congress, he was an attorney for Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick. He was chairman of New Jersey Common Cause from 1974 to 1977.

Zimmer said he would be a strong candidate against either of the two leading Democratic contenders, Lautenberg or Andrews.

"I'm proud of my record in the House, having repeatedly been named the most fiscally responsible," Zimmer said. "I'd look forward to comparing my record to Frank Lautenberg's."

Asked Thursday about Zimmer, Lautenberg said, "Is he the lobbyist? A lobbyist turned senator? Usually it's the other way around." "I don't know if you are allowed to talk to a lobbyist," added Lautenberg, enjoying the moment. "I'm certainly not going to let him buy me lunch, I can tell you that."

Zimmer said he considers himself a Congressional "classmate," of Andrews, as they both were first elected in 1990.

"I like him, but we see the world quite differently in political terms," Zimmer said.

Andrews called Zimmer "a colleague and a friend," adding, "He would articulate very well the Republican message that a significant majority of New Jerseyans reject."